121,183 total apps in the Windows Store and the best/top Windows 8 apps as of Oct 13th

It’s now time to take a look at the top, best, and most popular Windows 8 and Windows RT apps available in the Windows Store. We will go over some stats for the Windows Store, including the top five paid apps and top five free apps. This is yet another post in our weekly feature called “Windows Store Sunday” where we highlight what’s going on with the Windows Store.

As of October 13th, there are 121,183 apps in the Windows Store, an increase of 1,491 apps in just one week. Compared to last week, the Netflix and Google Search apps remain on the top five free list. Skype, which was at the top of the free list last week, is no longer in this week’s list. In the top paid category, we see the return of some old goodies such as Angry Birds Star Wars, Rayman Jungle Run, and Fruit Ninja making the top five paid list.

Microsoft’s Maps app in Windows 8.1 has received an update and this isn’t just a minor update. The Maps app now features Bing Smart Search integration, along with integration with Bing Travel and Bing Weather, among other new features. It’s nice to see a core app updated as the operating system hits general availability in a few days.

Microsoft rolled out a minor update to the Xbox Video app and Xbox Music app for Windows 8 and Windows RT this week. On top of that, Yahoo has also rolled out another minor update to their Yahoo Mail app for Windows 8. There was also an update to the Pinball FX2 app, Adobe Reader Touch app, and Microsoft Minesweeper app. All these updates address bugs and improve performance.

Microsoft also revealed this week that a new updated Fresh Paint app will launch alongside Windows 8.1, and also on Windows Phone 8. Microsoft has been working hard to deliver the highest quality, most realistic painting and drawing experience possible with the Fresh Paint app.

Microsoft confirmed this week that there will be Windows Store gift cards available over the next few months, just in time for the holiday season. While Microsoft has yet to disclose if we will see $10, $25, or $50 gift cards, like we have been hearing, the devices and services giant does promise “new revenue opportunities for Windows Store app builders” with the introduction of gift cards.